


If you want me

by Minimalist_Furniture



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Angst, Attempted Sexual Assault, Champ and Waverly aren’t together in this, Eventual Fluff, F/F, They all work at pussy willows, a substantial amount of flirting, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2019-10-05 04:01:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17317712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minimalist_Furniture/pseuds/Minimalist_Furniture
Summary: In the small city of purgatory Nicole Haught is just trying to earn some money before she joins the police academy, she doesn’t count on meeting one Waverly Earp. Just a story of them in an unforgiving situation hopefully making it work, I don’t know I’ve not written the rest yet!





	1. December 3rd and 4th

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, this is my first foray into multi chapter writing and I’ve only ever written one other fic. Comments are more than appreciated let me know where you think this will go in the future. And enjoy!! Xx

December 3rd

Nicole hated her work, hated that the club was so popular and hated the owner. .  
She pulled her fleece closer round herself and pulled the zip all the way up to her chin. Fucking purgatory in December. Kicking the snow that had accumulated on the edge of the steps, she cursed again at the unwelcome sight of 3 weaving and staggering men approaching.  
Nicole stood to her full height and nodded a curt greeting to the men, holding out a gloved hand she requested their IDs and then, After letting them pass into the thumping bass of the club shoved her hands back into her pockets and wished she could be in her bed, warm and cosy with calamity Jane asleep on her legs. She cursed Bobo and the fact that he didn’t seem to care that she’d got an entrance exam for the academy at 10 the following morning, as was evident by his threats to fire her if she didn’t work the 9pm to 5am shift at pussy willows.

December 4th

At around 2am Xavier Dolls appeared from inside the club.  
‘Hi’ was his short greeting. ‘Cold one isn’t it’. Nicole let out a derisive laugh ‘course it fucking is, it’s December’. Dolls’ face briefly twitched into a grin then quickly fell again into his regular somber expression.  
‘Plans for tomorrow?’ He questioned. ‘Could use my gym partner back if you’re free’.  
Nicole let out a sigh, ‘Yeah, if I’m not asleep or dying of disappointment’. Dolls just looked at her puzzled.  
‘I’ve got my entrance exam at 10am and obviously I’m here instead of studying, so who knows how that’ll go’.  
‘You’ll do great, I know it’ he says, trying to reassure her.  
Nicole lowers her head eyes downcast ‘it’s alright for you, you passed no problem’  
With a hand on her shoulder Dolls tries to give her an encouraging look. ‘I know you’ll do great and after we can go to the gym and spar, that’ll get your mind off things.’ He takes a breath ‘anyway Bobo wants you inside, something about you being better eye candy for the clientele’ 

With a gloomy thanks to Xavier, Nicole steps inside. She’s grateful for the reprieve from the weather and hangs her coat and scarf up on the wall, knocking the snow off her boots as she goes. As much as the heat is a plus she’d take door duty any day, preferring the lonely hours to the leering eyes and misogyny that seems to invade every corner of the small bar and stage area. Once inside the main room she positions herself against a wall with a view of it all. 

The minutes pass relatively quick and Nicole begins to hope that she’ll have no reason to leave her position of safety. That is until a burly man with sleeve tattoos begins to stand from his chair around the stage, his uprising is encouraged by whoops and hollers from his equally drunk and boisterous friends. With a few staggering steps and a wink to his friends he approaches the bar. At this point Nicole is poised ready to move but knows that the bartenders can more than handle themselves. The regular rotation of ladies who tend the bar are very used to a certain sort of attention and their treatment of the drunks is often her only moment of joy in an otherwise dull evening.  
This man however seems focused on one woman. As she moves behind the bar he addresses her with some familiarity. (A boyfriend perhaps, though the woman doesn’t seem as interested so maybe an ex?) Nicole shakes her head, why should she care the man looks harmless enough. 

She goes back to glaring at men around the stage who seem ready to ignore the no touching policy. Just as she’s about to approach a man who can’t keep his hands to himself, Nicole hears a harsh whisper.

‘Champ, for fucks sake, get off me I’m working’  
Turning Nicole sees that the man, Champ, has both of his hands over one of the bartender’s in a terrible attempt at some sort of romantic gesture and is not listening to the woman. The security guard immediately changes direction and approaches the bar. 

Hoping to diffuse the situation rather than escalate to a fight, Nicole stands at the end of the bar closest to the woman and her unwanted admirer.  
‘Hi, is there a problem here?’ Nicole asks in as authoritative tone as she can muster.  
‘Um yes thanks, Champ was just leaving’ the woman replies, not really looking at the security guard.  
‘No baby, I don’t wanna, my friends are all here and they’re hoping you’ll come back and sit with us so....’  
‘Would you like me to escort him out?’ Nicole asks. Interrupting the babbling man and addressing only the bartender.  
‘No it’s fine, but thanks, Champ go back to your friends and don’t bother me’ the man Champ wanders back to his friends who console him with a pat on the back and quickly divert his attention to the newest act on the stage. 

Nicole leaves the bartender with a faux salute and heads back to her patch of wall. Though throughout the next couple of hours she cannot help but sneak glances at the bartender whose long hair and kind eyes have very much caught her attention. There’s even a time or two she swears the girl was looking at her. Regardless the night passes much quicker, with only one patron being ejected early and as a plus she only saw Bobo once and he didn’t seem to want to talk to her so a decent night overall. 

At 4:30 in the morning Dolls joins her inside and they turn the lights up to herd the clients out of the club, she assists in the clear up of the seating area and at 5 bids Dolls a farewell, promising to text him the following day and tell him how her exam went. He stays to pick up his latest fling, a dancer that he won’t share the real name of who goes by Aphrodite.

The street is dark when she gets outside and everything has an odd pink glare from the neon sign of the bar, it flickers and buzzes. Nicole’s tired eyes threaten to sting at the exposure so she turns away. Across the street some movement catches her eye and she squints to better pick it out in the dark. Two shapes one of whom seems to be in distress. She starts and begins jogging towards the figures. As she gets closer a shout goes up from the smaller of the two people.  
‘Champ, stop, you’re an idiot’ realising it’s the bartender she speeds up and when Champ doesn’t cease his advances Nicole picks up her pace, now sprinting towards them in the dark.  
‘Champ get off me’ is met with incoherent mumbling by the man, somewhere along the lines of ‘you’re just confused’ and ‘I could remind you’ Nicole reaches the two of them just as champ grabs the woman in both arms and pulls her towards his chest.  
Nicole grabs his shoulder and twists him around, in surprise he releases his hold on the woman and she backs quickly away. ‘Mate, you don’t take a fucking hint do you’ Nicole shouts. His drunk brain is slow to react and his fist swings clumsily for Nicole’s jaw. After her regular practice with Dolls, Nicole is more than prepared to fight an inebriated bro. With a swift punch to the stomach and a dodge of another poorly aimed jab, she lands one to the mans jaw and he falls to the sidewalk with a groan.

‘You good? ‘she says turning to the bartender.  
‘Fuck, you didn’t have to knock him out!’ She exclaims, leaning in close to the man and checking his breathing.  
‘Well I can take him to the hospital if you’re worried?’ The woman laughs at this and responds by turning away with a flippant comment ‘I don’t care that much, and anyway you’re cute when you’re concerned’

The woman is 5 metres away when Nicole’s brain catches up and she sputters out ‘well can I walk you home, make sure nothing else happens to you’ the woman stops and turns back, ‘sure, but hurry up, I’ve got an episode of orange is the new black to watch before I turn in’. Nicole jogs up to her and falls in step with the smaller girl.  
‘I’m Nicole by the way’ she manages to say as she catches her breath.  
‘Waverly’ says the girl.  
‘Huh?’  
‘Waverly, Waverly Earp if it matters’  
‘Oh right, Haught’  
‘Excuse you?’ Says the woman with a wry grin on her face.  
‘Sorry, Nicole Haught. H-A-U-G-H-T’ she says with a laugh  
‘Oh. Of course...Well this is me’ says Waverly pointing to a small block of apartments with an outstretched hand.  
‘Okay, well it was nice to meet you, suppose I’ll see you at work?’ Nicole says finishing with a not so subtle probe for information.  
‘Probably not, it was just a favour for my sister’  
‘Oh. well I’ll see you around then’ Nicole mutters lamely, turning around and stepping down the road.  
‘Hey’ Waverly calls out. ‘Do you make a point of knocking out girls exes just to walk them home?’  
With a smile Nicole steps back towards Waverly.  
‘Just the beautiful ones’  
Warm brown eyes meet hazel ones and for a second they are completely undisturbed.  
Waverly then reaches out a hand and simply states ‘phone’ making a give it to me gesture with her hand. Nicole fumbles for a second and produces her beaten up iPhone, unlocking it she places it in the woman’s hand. After a few taps and a smile the phone is back in her hand and Waverly is through the door of her building without a backwards glance. A stunned Nicole is left standing in the snow. The gormless expression on her face seamlessly changes to a grin when she looks down at the screen to see a new contact:  
Waverly ❤️


	2. Still December 4th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief look at Waverly’s evening and a busy morning for Nicole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changes of person are marked with —————-  
> Enjoy and again comments are much appreciated!! Xx

The door of the building closing behind her, Waverly Earp let out a smile that quickly faded as she ran her hands over her face with a sigh. Completely torn between elation and a sick feeling in her stomach. The brave face now gone, she runs up the stairs holding in a sob and roots through her bag for her keys.

After unlocking her door and forgoing her Netflix binge, Waverly runs herself a bath. Silently undressing and sinking low into the scalding water she lets the tears run down her face. The thoughts of betrayal and disbelief run rampant through her head, how could Champ be such an idiot. She also thought of Nicole, how she’d been so strong and brave, yet so kind to her. Choosing to push down all her thoughts she closes her eyes and just focuses on her breathing.

40 minutes later Waverly wakes up, the water is cold and she begins to shiver. Jumping out of the tub she wraps herself in a towel and makes her way to the bedroom of her small living space. Drying quickly and jumping into her pyjamas she settles into bed with an extra blanket. Hoping that she’s not caught a chill she falls asleep quickly.

———————-

After walking home the 6 blocks to her apartment, Nicole swings the door open to be greeted by a very angry Calamity Jane.  
‘I know I’m late, sorry Janey.’ Nicole heads to the cupboard and pulls out a can of cat food.  
‘But there was this girl’ calamity responds with a desperate meow.  
‘And she needed my help, so I couldn’t help it’ calamity puts two paws on the side of the cabinet and lets out another more prolonged yell.  
‘Oh sorry girl, I was babbling again’ she fills the bowl and puts it down, giving calamity a stroke on her head as the cat pushes her face into the bowl. 

Nicole grabs a cup and fills it with water, briefly sitting on the counter she deliberates her choices. She could fall asleep and only get 3 hours before having to be up to sit her exam or she could cram some study into this last few hours and risk falling asleep during the test. Deciding on the latter she fixes herself a grilled cheese and grabs her textbook and notes from her bag. 

The passage in front of her is dull and Nicole’s eyes just seem to glaze over and she knows none of it has actually sunk in. she shakes her head to clear it but her thoughts cannot help but drift to wavy light brown hair and smiling eyes. She wishes they could have met under more agreeable circumstances but glad that she was there to help when she was needed. Nicole doesn’t notice that her eyelids are starting to droop and she rests her head on her arms. Sleep claims Nicole after a busy evening and she can’t resist.

At 9:30am there’s an abrupt buzzing noise. the text tone jolts Nicole awake, ‘shit’ she exclaims and sits straight up at the table. Checking the wall clock above her fridge she curses again ‘fuck no, I’m late’. Calamity Jane, noticins the commotion her owner is making, shoots into the bedroom to find some peace.  
The test centre is 20 minutes away at a run and Nicole has no time to shower or change. She must arrive 5 minutes early or risk not being allowed into the test room. In a perfect world Nicole would have left immediately but her stomach protests and she’s forced to grab a bagel and a smoothie from the fridge. As a last thought she opens a cat food tin and places it on the floor. Grabbing her keys and a warm coat she checks the pocket for her ID and runs out the door ‘bye Janey! See you later’. The slamming of the door wakes the neighbors kid and she winces, knowing she’ll owe them an apology and a promise of a free nights babysitting. 

At a run down the street past her favourite coffee place she decides she should probably check that text. Opening her phone and trying to keep her speed up is a struggle but she notices it’s a text from Dolls  
‘Morning, just wishing you luck for the test. Let me know if you’re free later i could do with a gym session’  
She’s so lucky Dolls texted when he did, another 10 minutes and she’d be fucked, this was the last exam session for 6 weeks and Nicole couldn’t wait that long to know if she could get in. She mentally promised she’d buy him a beer or two after the gym. While on her phone she noticed the newest contact in her phone and couldn’t help but smile again, she couldn’t place why she was so happy at the mere thought of this girl but knew she’d like to see her again. ‘Maybe start with a text’ she thought to herself. She was struggling to hit the right keys while keeping a steady jogging pace and decided to keep it relatively short.  
‘Hi Waverly, it’s Nicole. Hope you’re doing fine this morning’ she’d never been more appreciative of auto complete because her actual text would have looked more like...  
‘Hi wacerlt its Nicole hope youfe doung fing this mornifb’ which would have been far more embarrassing to send. After sending the text and eating a few bites of the bagel in her pocket she slowed to a walk outside the test centre, checking the time and using her remaining 2 minutes to catch her breath and drink the smoothie. Once calm (or as calm as she could be) Nicole pushes through the double door and approaches the front desk. 

An idea hour later a relieved Nicole steps back through those doors with a positive result letter clutched in her hand. Turning her phone on she sees no new messages and starts typing to Dolls.  
‘Got the pass grade, you still up for the gym? meet you there at 2?’ She sends the message and starts walking back to her flat. The phone’s hardly back in her pocket when it buzzes against her leg.  
‘Sure, see you then’ is the response. 

Deciding she needs to treat herself, Nicole steps into ‘Top Shelf Donuts’ she grabs a vanilla dipped donut to go and a black coffee. The walk back isn’t so cold with a sugary treat in her stomach and a warm cup in her hands. Just outside her apartment she decides it’s best to get it over with and writes a quick text to her mum.  
‘Had entrance exam today, passed. I’m waiting for a start date. Hope you’re well’ she doesn’t expect a reply.

After a relaxing shower and a cheese and ham sandwich Nicole turns on an episode of supergirl for a bit of light entertainment while she tidies her notes and books away. It’s only then she realises she’s had no response from Waverly. Letting it only bother her for a minute she reasons that it’s only been a couple of hours since she sent it and some people aren’t attached to their phones, maybe Waverly’s not so dependent on technology.

‘Be five minutes’ she tells Dolls over text. She’d got carried away in an episode of the Great British bake off and was yelling at a guy for throwing his ice cream in the trash when Dolls had texted asking if she was coming. Nicole rushes round the flat and packs her gym bag, she leaves hurriedly for the second time today and Calamity Jane barely opens an eye to watch her go. 

‘So there was this guy last night’ Nicole says dodging a jab to her right shoulder.  
‘A guy? didn’t take you for that sort of girl Nicole!’ Dolls laughs, his momentary lapse of concentration allows Nicole to dodge another jab and land a blow to the mans stomach.  
‘Not like that you idiot, he was with this girl’ Nicole states. Dolls just lets out a ‘course he was’ in response.  
‘And he wouldn’t leave her alone, so I knocked him out’ she finishes simply while Dolls circles round her.  
‘Christ Nicole, you are going to get yourself killed’ dolls tells her, he lands a jab to her stomach and she pulls away in frustration.  
‘I couldn’t just leave them, he would’ve hurt her’ she gasps while returning to her defensive position.  
Dolls comes at her again and she dodges sideways, she kicks out at his legs and he drops to his knees.  
‘Anyway do you want to get a drink’ she says, offering a hand to him. He doesn’t answer but grabs her hand and flips her onto her back on the mat.  
‘Sure, you’re buying’ he laughs.

After quick showers the two walk across the street to a bar they’ve hardly ever been to despite its proximity to the gym. Shorty’s bar seems welcoming enough and she’s just about to offer to buy the first round when she spots a familiar face across the crowded room. Waverly Earp is serving drinks to a crowd of rowdy customers and she nudges Dolls in the side.  
‘That’s the girl from last night’ she whispers.  
‘Yep, I can see why you knocked someone out for her’ he states simply.


	3. Also still December 4th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see Waverly’s day that leads up to her working in the bar, also I’m so sorry if this is utter nonsense, I’m writing at 4 in the morning and I can’t distinguish between past and present tense. Let me know if it’s unreadable and I’ll do my best to fix it when I can! Xx

At 2pm Waverly Earp finally woke up, she dressed quickly and tried to keep her mind void of thought. It was a struggle, everything from last night still circled in her head, an unending train of hurt and doubt. She needed to talk to someone. 

With a quick text to her sister and a plan to meet at the bar for a late lunch, she grabbed some Advil for her increasingly annoying headache and shut the door to her apartment behind her. Waverly had a shift later that day at shorty’s and she knew she couldn’t get through the day without some sort of pain relief. 

The walk was short but Waverly’s gloves did not seem good enough to keep out the cold so in the December air she shoved them deep into her pockets and picked up the pace. Arriving at the bar she’s pleased to find Wynonna’s bike parked outside and wonders if she’s claimed their usual table. Her question is soon answered when she walks through the door and sees familiar brown hair and leather stood defensively at the pool table, a certain Pete York stepping up to her.   
‘You cheated’ accuses the man. With a curt laugh and a swig from her bottle of whiskey Wynonna responds.  
‘Nope, just better than you’  
Pete is infuriated and looks to take a step towards Wynonna and clench a fist at his side.   
Within two seconds Waverly is at Wynonna’s side, she grabs Pete’s arm and flashes him her winning smile.  
‘Come on Pete, I’m sorry you lost, can Wynonna and I get you a drink?’ Pete’s face quickly changes from anger to a dopey smile and he nods. Waverly guides him away from her older sister and towards the bar, all while motioning for Wynonna to grab their table and to stop drinking. 

A subdued Pete sits at the bar and Shorty passes him a drink. Waverly pats Pete on the shoulder and goes to walk away from the bar when the bartender stops her,  
‘Well done girl, we’d have so many brawls in this here bar if you weren’t around’ Shorty looks so grateful.  
‘Part of the job Shorty’  
She offers him a smile and walks over to her sister who is at least sat at their table but still seems to be taking regular swigs from her bottle of whiskey.

‘So baby girl’ starts wynonna ‘how are you? And why the invite?’   
Waverly just looks down, feeling hesitant to share what’s going on. Sensing the change in behaviour to her sister wynonna puts down the bottle and sits forward slightly.  
‘Hey, you can tell me anything I won’t judge’   
‘Yeah but you might overreact’   
‘I promise I won’t’ says Wynonna and for once Waverly knows she’s trying to be sincere. ‘Unless it’s something to do with chump’ when she receives no response from Waverly but a moment of eye contact, Wynonna fears the worst.  
‘You’re back with Champ! No babygirl, come on you can do way better than him’ Waverly is quick to shut wynonna up ‘no it’s not that, it’s just....’   
She’s hesitant to finish her sentence. Waverly just can’t think of a way to phrase the problem.  
‘Yeah waves?’ her older sister encourages.  
‘Well he...’   
‘Did he hurt you?’ Waverly shakes her head but doesn’t say anything.  
‘But he tried’ asks Wynonna. With a quick nod from the younger girl wynonna is back to being all wynonna again and she’s swearing and threatening death on Champ Hardy right in the middle of Shorty’s bar. Waverly is quick on her feet and drags Wynonna into the toilets. 

‘Listen to me Wynonna’ says Waverly definitively, ‘I need to tell you what happened.’ Wynonna stops her promises of pain on Waverly’s ex and waits patiently for her sister to begin her story. 

Waverly tells her everything, well... almost everything. She doesn’t tell Wynonna that Nicole was the most attractive person she’s ever seen and that she walked her home and currently has her number in her phone. Everything with Nicole seems too good to be true in a time when she feels so betrayed by someone she thought at least cared about her. After her recount of the previous evening wynonna is silent for a moment, then pulls Waverly into a huge bear hug. She doesn’t let go even when her sister protests, Waverly begins to cry. She lets everything out and the cathartic sobbing puts everything into perspective. She will go to the station tomorrow and file a report against Champ. She also needs to thank Nicole, because in the stress she forgot to and regrets it. When Wynonna finally releases her she wipes her eyes.  
‘Just be glad that security guard has already knocked him out. I might not need to be so harsh when I see him next’ Wynonna states brushing a lock of hair out of Waverly’s face who lets out a little laugh followed by a small sob.  
‘Thankyou Wy, I needed to tell someone’ Waverly states, she lets out a relieved breath.   
‘Anytime waves, you save me from a brawl at least twice a week it’s the least I can do, plus now I get to beat up an asshole for you’ with a laugh, she turns to leave.  
‘You alright if I go order us some food?’  
‘Yeah, I’ll just be a minute’ Waverly says gesturing to her face which is tear stained and red. Wynonna goes back into the bar and Waverly splashes her face with water. The cold is a relief and contrary to her earlier experience on her walk to the bar, it is welcomed and she feels more refreshed by it. She looks at herself in the mirror and allows herself some calming breaths. Now that her mind is slightly more clear of Champ related strife she sees Nicole’s smile swimming at the front of her mind. Resolving to thank her and ask to see the girl again she joins Wynonna at their table to wait for the food. 

The two earps eat their fill and chat about anything and everything, from the shift at pussy willows the night before to Wynonna’s new boy toy. She doesn’t seem too invested in their relationship and Waverly hopes the man feels the same way. From the way Wynonna talks about him she can guess he’s more invested than she is. 

By 6:00pm Waverly is ready to start her shift, she goes to check her phone one last time and notices a text that she’d not seen as she unlocked her phone when she woke up. It’s from Nicole and suddenly a wave of guilt washes over her. First she doesn’t thank the woman and now she might as well be ghosting her. With her finger hovering over the notification there is suddenly a crash in the bar and she bursts out to see a waiter standing above a pile of broken plates, he looks distraught and her sister leans on the young man, laughing with a bottle in her clutches. Wynonna is too drunk to stand unaided so despite her protests the younger earp takes her arm and helps her up the stairs to the flat she used to share with Champ. she coaxes her into the bed, fully clothed. Wynonna is asleep before she shuts the door. 

The shift starts normally and Waverly holds a few conversations with the bars regular Friday night crowd. After around an hour it begins to get busy, group after group comes through the front door and she hardly spares them a glance. After pouring a beer for sheriff Nedley the door opens once more and suddenly her eyes are drawn to the entrance by a shock of red hair under a black cap. Nicole stands at the top of the steps, her eyes dart round the bar and Waverly looks away before she’s caught staring. She supposes Nicole hasn’t seen her yet and chances another look, Nicole’s companion is staring right at her and the redhead is whispering something to him with a small smile on her face. The two share a few words and the man, who she recognises from pussy willows, goes to find a table for them. At this point Waverly is serving other customers, trying to distract herself and pretend she’s not seen Nicole who waits patiently at the other end of the bar and watches the football. Shorty goes to move past her behind the bar and Waverly catches his arm.  
‘I’ll serve the redhead at the end’ she whispers, ‘just give me a minute’.  
Shorty winks at her ‘friend of yours’ he replies.  
All Waverly can do is blush furiously and rush through her current drinks order. 

The bar calms quite a bit in the few minutes Waverly is preparing stupid Carl’s drinks and she’s grateful she’ll get to say more than just a few rushed words to Nicole. Heading over she meets Nicole’s eyes and smiles, the redhead mirrors her grin and waves a hand slightly. ‘For one so sure of herself last night she’s certainly cute when she’s awkward’ Waverly thinks to herself.


	4. Also also December 4th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter Waverly and Nicole get to talk a little and maybe even arrange a date of sorts (which will be in the next chapter) leave any suggestions in the comments!

‘So what can I get you tonight’ Waverly asks as she gets to Nicole. ‘Beer? Or something stronger maybe?’ she adds after noticing Nicole’s workout gear.  
‘I’ll take 2 beers if you don’t mind’ Nicole replies ‘and a moment of your time if you’ll give it to me’ she quips, leaning slightly over the bar with a sincere smile. Waverly can’t help but blush.  
‘I think I can meet both of those requests. just for you though!’ She says, quickly grabbing two glasses and rushing to the taps, eager to return to their conversation. Nicole waits patiently at the end of the bar turning her attention back to the football for a moment. This gives Waverly the perfect opportunity to stare for just longer than should be appropriate! She’s appreciating the definition in Nicole’s neck when cold beer begins to run down her hands.  
‘Shit’ she mutters, under her breath. Carl, who is sitting in front of her begins to laugh and Waverly turns beet red.  
‘Shut up Carl, or I’m cutting you off’ she hisses. The man stops making noise pretty sharp-ish and goes back to quietly nursing his beer. Pouring the other pint quickly, she wipes her hands on her apron and grabs both glasses.  
‘Thanks’ Nicole says as the beers are presented. She goes to grab her wallet.  
‘No need’ Waverly hurries to say, ‘I’ll cover these as a Thankyou for last night.’  
‘No it’s fine, anyone would have done the same...’ Nicole begins to pull her card from her wallet but is stopped this time with a hand on hers.  
‘I’m not going to let you pay’ says Waverly in a more assertive tone. However she begins to look down and her voice begins to drop in volume as she explains herself ‘You were so kind to me last night, I owe you and obviously not everyone would’ve done the same, if you want you can pay me back with a coffee, but you don’t have to do that either. You probably don’t want to ...’ this time it’s Nicole’s turn to interrupt.  
‘I’d love to pay you back with a coffee, when are you free?’ 

Waverly smiles.  
‘I’m free after my shift, I’m only on til 9 today?’ Waverly eagerly tells Nicole.  
‘Sounds great, I’ll be here’ Nicole gives her a very dimpled smile and adds ‘I should probably go back to my friend’  
‘Yes, uh great, sure’ Waverly stumbles over her words completely shocked by the dazzling smile. ‘Enjoy your drinks’ she almost shouts, adding a wave in just to add to the embarrassment.  
Nicole is already walking away from the bar and turns back over her shoulder to shoot one last glance and a smile at Waverly as said girl silently berates herself for being so awkward. 

———————-

Nicole walks away from the bar with a smile a mile wide. She hurries back to Dolls and slams the glasses on the table.  
‘Fucking hell Haught’ Dolls says, holding his heart. ‘What was that for’  
‘And I thought you were meant to be tough’ Nicole laughs ‘army material, that’s what you told me!!’  
‘Yeah well I was daydreaming’ he grumbles ‘anyway, you’re a lot more chipper than before. What happened with her at the bar?’ Dolls continues, picking up his beer and taking a long drink.  
Nicole can’t help her grin.  
‘She agreed to go out with me!’ She exclaims. ‘Tonight, after she finishes here’  
Dolls claps her on the back with a smile.  
‘Nice!’ He says sharing in her enthusiasm. ‘Where are you taking her?’  
‘I’m not sure yet to be honest, maybe that new coffee shop on west?’ She looks to her friend for confirmation or disagreement.  
‘Why not take her somewhere you love, just go to top shelf.’ He says, ‘it’s the only choice’  
‘I don’t know, I just really want her to like it’ Nicole says doubtfully.  
‘That new coffee shop is probably shit, and I honestly don’t think she’ll care where you take her, she’s looked over at you 5 times while we’ve been talking and that smile ain’t leaving her face’ Dolls says sincerely. ‘That donut shop is your second home, you’ve got to take her’  
Nicole gives in, ‘Alright, we’ll go there. I Just hope she like donuts’ 

——————

Waverly really struggles to concentrate for the remainder of her shift, after 3 split beers and a smashed cocktail glass, Shorty has had enough.  
‘Girl, you’re not on your game tonight. Go tell that redhead you’re off shift early and enjoy your night!’ Waverly stares at him.  
‘Uh what, no, there’s no redhead’ she protests.  
Shorty just smiles. ‘Fine, well I’m letting you off early anyway so do what you will’  
Waverly can’t help but smile. ‘Okay, sorry Shorty! I’m in on Sunday so I’ll see you then.’ Running into the cloakroom from behind the bar, She throws her apron on her hook and ascends the stairs to the apartment. Attempting to be as quiet as possible she pushes the door open slightly and peers through, Wynonna is in the exact position she left her in 2 hours ago. With a smile and a skip, Waverly heads down the stairs grabbing her coat as she passes it and rushing out into the bar. 

Suddenly coming to her senses she stops in the middle of the floor. She is immediately overwhelmed with negative thoughts: what if Nicole left and doesn’t want to see her, what if she misread the situation, because why would anyone want her. The room became very big all of a sudden and she can’t hear anything. 

‘Waverly... Waverly? Are you alright?’ Nicole is gently touching her arm. It feels like an anchor pulling her back into reality and Waverly focuses on Nicole’s features.  
‘I finished early so I came to find you, but it’s alright if you want me to wait, or I could just go home.’ Waverly mutters.  
‘Do you want to go home?’ Nicole quickly chimes in.  
‘Oh no not really, I just thought you might have changed your mind?’ Waverly replies.  
Nicole lets out a laugh ‘no way, let me just tell me friend that I’m heading out early’ she returns to her table and has a quick conversation with the man from earlier. They talk quickly and both turn to look at Waverly at one point. Nicole smiles and her friend clasps her shoulder with a smile too. She picks up her coat and returns to Waverly’s side.  
‘Shall we go then’ she says with a smile.  
Waverly smiles back and nods, she takes Nicole’s offered arm.


	5. Will December 4th ever end!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly and Nicole’s mini donut date! This is where the story starts to pick up I think!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was way easier to write than the last, which is why it’s up less than 24 hours later! I think this will start to get interesting but I’m still not sure of the specifics of where this will go in future. If you’ve any ideas let me know! X

Heading out into the dark street the two women were glad of their closeness. The wind chilled them both and Nicole hurried to ask ‘do you like donuts’ Waverly looked at her ‘only there’s a place not too far from here that does the best vanilla dipped donuts’  
‘Sure’ Waverly replied with a smile.  
‘It’s just a block that way’ Nicole pointed down the street. Waverly re-gripped Nicole’s arm and the two shared a smile. They stepped in time down the sidewalk. 

Top shelf donuts’ windows looked extremely inviting as the women got closer. The pink sign above the door was brightly lit and beckoned them inside. 

Heading straight to the counter Waverly releases Nicole’s arm. She takes her time considering all the sweet confections as Nicole places her order with the man behind the till.  
‘I’ll have a vegan vanilla donut and a latte with soy please.’ Waverly smiles at the man. As Nicole pays she looks with concern at the younger woman.  
‘I wish I’d known you were vegan, I’d have taken us somewhere with more choice for you’ Nicole seems very apologetic but Waverly places a hand on her forearm.  
‘It’s fine, this place is great, it actually reminds me of you’ Waverly doesn’t include the fact that Nicole and the shop both smell like vanilla donuts, a fact she noticed about Nicole as they walked together. Nicole seems subdued and after a moment they receive their drinks and find a secluded table in the corner by the window. 

‘So what did you get?’ Waverly asks.  
‘Vanilla dipped and a black coffee’ Nicole replies. Waverly scrunches up her face and looks disgusted,  
‘I don’t know how you drink it like that, I definitely can’t!’ She says this as she empties 3 packets of brown sugar into her cup.  
Nicole just laughs ‘well I don’t know how you drink that, what’s the point of buying coffee if you can’t taste it!’ Waverly scowls at her ‘but I do know you look cute when you pull that face.’  
Waverly’s expression changes from disgruntled to a furious blush in a matter of milliseconds. She looks down, laughs and quickly adds,  
‘Well to be fair, you bought the coffee so I can do what I want to it!’ Waverly smiles at her and Nicole can’t help but match it. 

‘So is that your full time job?’ Asks Nicole after a few moments ‘working at Shorty’s?’  
‘No I just do weekends and evenings, I’m actually a student’ Nicole looks at her with genuine interest so Waverly continues ‘ancient history and languages at the university. I’m In my final year!’  
‘That’s amazing, I could never learn a language. I tried learning French but the most I’ve got is: bonjour, je m‘apelle Nicole.’ Waverly can’t help but giggle. Nicole’s accent is probably the worst thing she’s ever heard.  
‘Remind me never to take you to Paris!’ she quips without thinking, suddenly she stops laughing and looks at Nicole.  
‘Already making future plans are you?’ She looks Waverly dead in the eyes and winks at her.  
‘Only if you want me to’ Waverly quickly shoots back. They both smile at each other and turn their attention to their previously abandoned coffee and donuts.

After a few mouthfuls of the best donut she’s ever had, Waverly looks at Nicole.  
‘Is the club your full time job then?’  
‘At the moment Yeah, But I actually just passed the entrance exam for the police academy today so I’m hoping to start training soon’ Nicole says excitedly.  
‘Wow! well done’ Waverly enthuses ‘that’s really impressive’ Nicole smiles, her dimples in full force.  
‘How did you manage to do all that and work last night?’ She asks.  
‘Well Bobo wouldn’t give me the night off so I had to work didn’t I?’ Nicole says with a weary look ‘but I’m glad I did or I wouldn’t have met you’ she adds.  
‘I’m glad you were there too’ Waverly replies sadly.  
‘Are you okay, I haven’t really asked’ enquires Nicole reaching over the table to take her hand.  
‘I’m okay, I just didn’t think Champ would ever do something like that’ she says shaking her head, ‘he wasn’t the best boyfriend but I didn’t think he was capable of it’  
Nicole isn’t sure what to say so she continues to hold Waverly’s hand and nods for her to carry on.  
‘It’s just made me feel a little unsure of it all. like before I knew Champ was harmless but now I could be wrong about everything’ Waverly’s eyes begin to water.  
‘Sorry, I’m crying on our date’ she pulls her hand back and begins to wipe furiously at her eyes.  
‘Hey...hey!’ Nicole tried to get Waverly’s attention. ‘You’ve no need to apologise, so much has happened in a short space of time and you’ve barely had time to process it. Cry as much as you want and I’ll be here to listen to you’ says Nicole reassuringly as she reaches out and offers a tissue from her pocket. Waverly takes it and after giving Nicole a watery smile dries her face. Nicole waits and then reaches her hand out to the centre of the table, letting Waverly bridge the gap with her own hand. The two sit in silence for a moment, hands joined and finish their respective drinks. 

‘Would you like to go for a walk?’ Waverly asks ‘I’m not sure I want this to end just yet’ she seems hesitant and Nicole is quick to reply.  
‘That sounds lovely’ Waverly reluctantly releases Nicole’s hand so they can put their sweaters and coats back on. Once fully dressed Nicole offers her hand to Waverly. 

The two leave the shop hand in hand. The wind is blustery and snow blows sideways down the street. They take a turn around the block before deciding this may not have been the best idea. Waverly gets as close as she can to the taller woman’s side and speaks loudly to overcome the sounds of the weather.  
‘I should go back to the bar, my sister’s passed out upstairs and I should stay with her tonight.’  
‘Okay,’ responds Nicole with a squeeze of the hand in hers.  
Waverly leads the way and the two return to the bar the way they came. A comfortable silence falls as they try to preserve body heat. 

Once at the bar they manage to find some shelter in the alley. The wind isn’t as loud or cold here and Waverly and Nicole can say goodnight without fear of frostbite.  
‘I had a good time, and those donuts really were fantastic’  
‘They are pretty great, I’m glad you liked them. Though the company was my favourite part’ Nicole picks up Waverly’s other hand and the smaller woman turns to face her.  
‘Thankyou Nicole, for listening, and Thankyou again for last night’ Waverly says sincerely.  
‘It’s really no trouble, I enjoyed spending time with you’ Nicole responds, she notices that Waverly has got closer to her and her heart rate picks up.  
‘Nicole..’  
‘Yes?’ Nicole can see the snowflakes in Waverly’s eyelashes begin to melt at the proximity to Nicole’s body heat.  
‘Can I kiss you?’ She asks. Pausing in her approach.  
‘Yes’ Nicole breathes out. She had never been more sure of anything. 

Waverly extends herself on tiptoes to press her lips to Nicole’s. Nicole closes her eyes and everything changes. Waverly’s soft lips are on hers and the world stops spinning. She drops Waverly’s hands and brings them to cup her face.  
Suddenly she feels the loss as Waverly pulls quickly away.  
‘Shit Nicole, your hands are freezing!’  
Nicole laughs  
‘Sorry, I’ll keep them to myself from now on!’ She apologises moving them to Waverly’s waist.  
‘I’m not sure I want that either, just make sure your hands are warmer before our next date’ she whispers with a wry smile.  
Nicole’s heart skips a beat and she leans in to capture Waverly’s lips once more, Waverly’s arms swing up to link round the back of Nicole’s neck. They couldn’t have cared less about the weather as their lips move softly together. After what seems like an eternity, Nicole pulls away from Waverly and rests their foreheads together.  
‘Can I see you soon’ She asks, catching her breath.  
‘Absolutely, I’ll text you’  
‘Okay’ Nicole drops her hands from Waverly’s waist and the brunette’s hands fall to meet them. With a last kiss on the cheek Waverly is through the doors of the bar and Nicole is left standing in the cold with a dumb smile on her face and no worries for the blizzard raging on. 

Waverly steps into the warm bar and sighs deeply, she must be wearing the same sort of idiotic grin as Nicole because Shorty spots her from behind the bar and with a knowing looks laughs his hearty laugh.


	6. December 5th finally!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit got real, there’s not much wayhaught in this chapter but the next one promises to be a good one. Not a good chapter for Nicole so be warned.

It’s 1pm when Nicole wakes up the following day to a heavy weight on her chest. Clearly 2 hours sleep wasn’t enough to go on and she really needed the rest. Calamity Jane is obviously fed up of waiting and when Nicole opens her eyes the cat lets out a pitiful meow.   
‘Okay I’m up, sorry Jane’ she says with a scratch to the cats chin. This action seems to pacify Calamity Jane and she jumps off the bed and struts towards the bedroom door. Once there she turns back with wide eyes and another insistent meow, as if to say, ‘are you coming then?’  
‘One second girl’ Nicole says as she swings her legs out of bed.   
Nicole ignores her bladder for the moment and follows the ginger cat into the kitchen of her modest apartment. She grabs a tin of food from the cabinet and Calamity’s bowl from the floor. After a quick rinse of yesterday’s food she scoops the salmon and vegetables mixture into the bowl.   
Calamity lets out a final desperate meow and Nicole places it on the floor.

After going to the toilet and washing her face, she dresses in her most comfy sweatpants and hoodie and sinks down into her sofa crease. Nicole pulls her phone from its charger and notices a text which makes her heart skip.

Waverly: I really enjoyed our date last night, I was wondering if you wanted to get brunch on Sunday?

She quickly checks her mental calendar, shift at 7 tonight til 5, then free the rest of Sunday. She types out her reply.

Nicole: sounds great, I’m working tonight til late so shall we say 12? 

Hitting send she puts the phone down and finds the remote for the tv, Nicole is 2 episodes into the Great British bake off when her phone vibrates on the arm of the sofa. 

Waverly: 12 is good. I’m going to lunch with my sister today so won’t be able to talk til later. Hope you have a great day xx

The kisses at the end of the message make Nicole’s heart flutter and she berates mentally herself for being so into this girl.

Nicole: Okay, speak later xx

Smiling down at her phone and hitting send she locks it and places it back down again. 

Nicole spends the next 3 hours alternating between shows on Netflix and doing her at home workout. At 6pm she reluctantly decides she should start getting ready for work and jumps into a scalding shower. 

40 minutes later Nicole is dressed in her work clothes of a black fleece, black trousers and her boots. She leaves a well fed calamity Jane asleep on her bed and heads out into the hall. The snow has piled up around the front door of the building and Nicole has to push with her shoulder to open it at all.   
‘Fucking door’ she mutters as it barely moves an inch. Nicole lets out a yell. ‘Piece of shit, why won’t you fucking open’   
There’s a quiet cough behind her and she turns to see her neighbor and her little boy wrapped up in all their winter clothes.   
‘I’m so sorry Kirsten, the doors stuck’. She says as if that’s an excuse for her cursing. Nicole gives the door one last push and it swings wide open.  
‘Oh, well, it was stuck’  
Kirsten smiles at her ‘it’s alright, he hears worse from his dad’ she herds the young boy out of the door with a ‘have a good evening’

Nicole follows the two out of the door and shuts it behind her. At the corner of the street they go opposite ways and little Ben waves her off. She can’t help but grin and waves back. The wind has let up today and the walk is quite pleasant. The snow crunches beneath her feet and Nicole feels energised by the brisk night. She’s feeling very upbeat by the time she arrives in the parking lot of pussy willows and her good mood continues all through her first hour and a half stood outside the door. She keeps replaying her kiss with Waverly in her mind and is so distracted she almost lets three 17 year olds waltz through. Catching them just before they go through the door she sends them off into the dark with a stern word and a warning to not come back for at least a year.   
She can just see the outline of their retreating forms when a familiar car pulls into the lot. Nicole sighs, not thrilled to have to deal with Bobo’s shit tonight. He gets out of the drivers side, clearly inebriated and stumbles round to help his passenger out of the car. She steps out and Nicole recognises her as his wife, Willa. Nicole thinks to herself that she’d be beautiful if she didn’t have a constant look on her face as if someone had shit under her nose. Bobo takes her arm and the two walk towards Nicole.   
‘Haught’ Bobo slurs, ‘you should be inside, the customers prefer you to Dolls, he makes them feel bad about themselves’ Nicole would laugh if she didn’t know what was coming. ‘Maybe you should get up on that stage aswell?’  
‘Don’t be silly Robert, no one would enjoy that’ says Willa, Bobo lets out a hearty laugh and leads his wife into the bar.  
‘I mean it though, get inside. You’re on hands watch’ he throws back over his shoulder.  
She sighs.   
Hanging up her coat quickly she’s met by Dolls in the hall. He gives her an apologetic look and grabs his own coat before heading out into the cold. 

Nicole assumes her regular position in the main room, the patrons are surprisingly respectful for a Saturday night crowd, she only breaks up one fight and only a couple of men get adventurous with their hands. At 3 in the morning, just as things begin to quiet down she spot a familiar face walk into the room. Though his face is black and blue the tattoos and hair are unmistakable, the man child she punched the other night. He meets her eyes across the room and she can feel his anger. Surely he wouldn’t be stupid enough to start something in his favourite establishment? Nicole’s theory proves itself true as he sits down near the stage and begins to enjoy the show. 

Over the course of the next hour and a half, 3 men enter the bar at intervals. she’s never seen any of them before and they all head straight for Champ. None of them order drinks and they all sit with their heads together talking in hushed voices. Nicole tries not to concern herself with them and continues doing her job though her instincts tell her she’s in deep shit.   
At a quarter to closing 2 more men enter the room and all 6 move to the bar and order what seems like neat whiskey. Nicole surreptitiously sends Dolls a text.

Nicole: remember that man I hit, him and some friends are all in the bar. Come be back up at closing so I know they’ve left.

She doesn’t have to wait long for a reply

Dolls: shit, that doesn’t sound good, course I’ll help. Maybe tell Bobo? 

Nicole: like he’ll do anything. But thanks.

She sends this and considers following Dolls’ advise but deep down knows that Bobo won’t care. The men are customers something he’s sorely lacking. 

Dolls turns up at 5 and Nicole points the men out to him.  
‘That’s champ’ she whispers, pointing subtly.   
‘And he’s got 5 others with him?’ Asks Dolls. Nicole nods in reply.   
‘Okay, lets start moving out’

They go about their normal end of shift procedure, starting at the stage and moving people out of the building. At the bar the men show little resistance though Champ turns back to address Nicole.  
‘You won’t get away with what you did’ Nicole ignores him ‘Waverly doesn’t know what she’s missing.’ 

Together they remove all the men from the premises and finish up.   
‘Hey, I’m going to head out’ Nicole says ‘thanks for your help, that could’ve been ugly’   
‘No problem, I’m actually waiting for someone’ Dolls says with a smile. ‘You go ahead’   
Nicole laughs and claps him on the back.  
‘Alright see you soon’ 

Leaving Dolls by the stage she heads to the cloakroom and grabs her stuff. Everything’s quiet when she leaves and there are just a couple of cars left in the lot. She’s just approaching the edge of the lot trying to find her headphones in her backpack when she hears a noise behind her. Whipping round she sees one of Champs friends. He tries to act nonchalantly but then another two men are approaching her from the side. Suddenly she’s surrounded and Champ is standing in front of her. He’s smiling and she drops her bag, preparing herself to fight.   
‘I’m going to destroy you now that it’s fair’ he sneers  
‘What do you mean fair, it wasn’t fair on Waverly the other night when you tried to force yourself on her, I made it fair by knocking you out’ Nicole shoots back, she puts her hands up defensively. Champ spits on the ground. His face becoming red and his eyes narrow.  
‘You don’t know shit about me and Waverly, she wants me’ he shouts.  
‘That’s not what she told me last night’ Nicole jeers with a smile.   
Champ lets out a yell and swings clumsily at her. Nicole’s plan has worked. Just as she’s learnt in training it’s easier to fight someone who isn’t thinking straight.   
Nicole dodges and aims a jab at champs exposed ribcage. He doubles over and gasps. She gives him a moment to recover, after all she’s not an animal. she’d like to beat him fair and square. After returning to his full height champ calms himself slightly. He tries to place a calculated punch to her stomach. Nicole blocks it. He then follows with a kick to her hip. She’s caught off guard and stumbles back slightly. Falling into the circle behind her she expects to be pushed back towards Champ but the men grab her arms and immobilise her legs. Champ smiles wide.  
‘You might be honourable but we’re definitely not’   
He follows this with a punch to her stomach and side in quick succession, the wind is knocked out of her and despite the arms holding her she sinks to her knees, hands still restrained. Champ laughs and grabs her hair. He drives his knee into her face and pushes her into the ground. Suddenly no one is holding her and through the pain of what she believes is a broken nose Nicole stands to face Champ.   
‘You’ve not got anything to say now have you, Dyke!!’ Champ laughs and his friends all laugh too. She swings one last time at the man and he dodges easily. Nicole feels a fist in her stomach and bends over winded.   
There’s a slam of a door and chatter from the front entrance. Through tears Nicole sees Dolls and his companion. They stand for a second and then realise what’s happening.  
‘Hey, hey!!’ Dolls sounds angrier than she’s ever heard him. ‘Back the fuck up’ he yells.  
Most of the men scatter, Champ seems to be slow at taking all this in as he’s the last left standing there.  
‘Champ you son of a bitch, I’m so glad Waverly broke up with you cause now I can kick your ass’ Nicole’s never heard that voice before but she seems to know Waverly so Nicole tries to turn and face her but the woman is already chasing down Champ’s retreating form through the dark.   
Dolls is at her side in an instant,  
‘I’m so sorry, I should’ve walked you out’ he says as he helps Nicole stand up straight. ‘Fuck, was this all champ?’   
‘Yes’ She says through bloody lips ‘but his friends held me back’   
‘I’m so sorry’ he reiterates. They walk to Dolls’ cars, ‘I’ll give you a ride to the hospital’ Nicole stops suddenly.  
‘No it’s fine, just take me home’ she insists. Dolls looks at her.  
‘You should really go to the ER’ Nicole shakes her head ‘okay, I’m definitely taking you home though.’ Nicole gives him as good a smile as she can manage even with her suspected bust lip and broken nose. Once Dolls helps her into his car the mystery woman returns from her chase.   
‘Bastard got away’ she says simply. ‘How do you know Champ anyway’  
Nicole is about to answer when Dolls cuts her off,  
‘He tried it on with the girl she’s crushing on’ he informs her.   
‘Oh, well the enemy of my enemy is my friend, nice to meet you I’m Wynonna’ she turns round and offers a hand, Nicole shakes it.   
‘I’m Nicole.’   
Dolls starts the engine and he and Wynonna begin to talk to each other. Nicole is left to her own thoughts in the back of the car. 

She pull out her phone and sees an unread text from Waverly, she smiles despite the pain.

Waverly: how was work? I can’t sleep so I’m up if you wanted to chat xx

Nicole considers not telling Waverly about what’s happened but decides she’s definitely going to have some bruising and it will be impossible to cover up at brunch tomorrow.

Nicole: work was good but I ran into Champ after and I’m looking a bit worse for wear. Xx

Waverly’s response is immediate.

Waverly: are you hurt?! Are you at the hospital? Xx

Nicole: I’m fine, maybe a broken nose and my ribs hurt but I’ll be fine, Dolls is driving me home xx

Waverly: what’s your address.

Nicole’s a little taken aback by this message.

Nicole: why?

Waverly: because I want to see you and I don’t know where you live 

Nicole: you don’t have to come over I’m fine

Waverly: don’t be an idiot Nicole, what’s your address 

Nicole sighs and types out her address

Waverly: Thankyou, I’ll see you soon xxx

Nicole closes her eyes for a moment and tries to ignore the pain. At least she’ll get to see Waverly earlier than planned.


	7. December 6th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can a beaten and bruised Nicole find comfort in Waverly Earp who’s waiting at her front door.

Nicole is woken from a sleep she didn’t know she’d fallen into by the car coming to a halt. Dolls calls her name and offers to walk her up to the apartment.  
‘No thanks I’m sorted’ she says as she spots Waverly through the steamed glass. 

Nicole opens the door and is met by Waverly Earp who runs up as if to hug her but thinks better of it when she sees how Nicole holds her bruised side. She settles for getting right up close and running a hand down Nicole’s face.  
‘My god’ she whispers.  
‘You should see the other guys’ Nicole managed to say back with as much of a smile as is comfortable. They’re sharing a brief moment when Dolls opens his door and shouts,  
‘The other guys walked away without a scratch, don’t let her play this off as a fair fight’ he’s very stern and Wynonna leans over to add something. Looking at the pair through Dolls’ open door her words get caught in her throat.  
‘Wynonna?’  
‘Waverly, what are you doing here’ Wynonna says astonished.  
‘I’m taking care of Nicole’ Asserts Waverly ‘she’s hurt, and you’re asking too many questions’ with that Waverly tenderly takes Nicole’s arm and leads her to the front door.  
‘I had no idea Nicole’s new girl was your sister, I’d have told you if I did’ Dolls says to Wynonna hurriedly.  
‘It’s fine, she should be glad Champ had already whacked her pretty good or I’d have had to do it.’ She says unconvincingly.  
‘Sure Wynonna, don’t act like your not pissed you didn’t get to knockout Champ’  
‘Shut up and drive us to your place’ Wynonna says with a wink and a hand on Dolls’ thigh. ‘I’d rather not talk anymore’  
‘This is just you deflecting the truth’ Dolls laughed.  
‘Yes but is it working?’ Wynonna asks, continuing with her advances.  
‘Absolutely’ says Dolls with a smile as he puts the car in gear and drives away from Nicole’s front door.

————

Nicole and Waverly have just managed to hobble up the stairs to her door when Nicole hears the engine of a departing car.

‘I’m glad I didn’t ruin their night’ says Nicole timidly.  
‘Ruin their night, you couldn’t ruin anything Nicole. Plus Wynonna loves drama so she’s probably into all this’ Waverly states simply as she takes Nicole’s keys from her hand and lets them into the apartment. 

Nicole walks into the entrance hall and stops to shut the door behind Waverly.  
‘Can I get you a drink Waverly?’ Nicole asks awkwardly.  
‘No you absolutely cannot, you’re going to go and lie down and I’ll bring the first aid kit’ says Waverly opening up her bag and revealing a very cute and precisely packed first aid kit. ‘Now where’s the kitchen’  
Nicole can’t help but smile and she points Waverly down the hall and to the right. Waverly marches towards the kitchen and Nicole watches her leave with a bemused look on her face. Without looking Waverly shouts backwards.  
‘Go and lie down Nicole’  
Nicole lets out a quick laugh which she immediately regrets as a sharp pain ripples through her ribs. Her eyes begin to water and she decides it’s maybe best to follow Waverly’s advice. She carefully makes her way to her bedroom and decides she must try to undress because she knows how uncomfortable it will be to sleep in her work shift. She’s managed to get her jeans off and pull some boxer shorts on but after unbuttoning her shirt she cannot manoeuvre it from her shoulders. She gasps in pain as her ribs pull tight again and her eyes begin to stream again.  
‘Ahh, shit’ she whispers trying to not make to much noise. She walks to her wardrobe and leans against the door. she is exhausted and the tears that run from her eyes are no longer of pain but of frustration.  
A near inaudible sob leaves her lips and she can’t do more than just stand.  
‘Nicole are you dressed? Can I come in?’ Waverly asks from outside the door.  
Nicole is unable to answer as her voice catches in her throat and she has to focus on just breathing through her panic.  
‘Nicole, are you okay?’ There’s no answer from inside the room and Waverly becomes more worried. Then she hears a quiet sob. She opens the door and sees a half dressed Nicole in a state of pure distress.  
‘Oh Nicole’ She says as she places her first aid kit down on the bed.  
‘Let me help you’ she says as she supports Nicole to standing away from the wardrobe. She tenderly pushes the shirt from Nicole’s shoulders. She then runs to the drawers under the window and opens them wildly til she finds shirts. Grabbing the softest one she can find she unfolds it and prepares it to be easily put on.  
Approaching Nicole once more Waverly opens the shirt and Nicole raises her arms out in front of her. together they manage to pull it onto Nicole’s body and Nicole visibly relaxes. Waverly pulls Nicole into a gentle hug and holds her.  
‘Thankyou, I don’t know what came over me’ Nicole mutters. ‘Sorry, I never cry’  
Pulling back from Nicole, Waverly wipes a tender finger over the tears running from her eyes.  
‘It’s okay, you don’t have to apologise for anything’ Waverly comforts Nicole. ‘Why don’t you lie down and I can clean your face’  
Waverly helps Nicole into bed. She rolls the covers down to the bottom and positions the first aid kit on the nightstand. Having a proper look at Nicole’s face Waverly begins to get choked up. She reaches for a wipe to hide that her eyes are beginning to water. When she returns to looking at Nicole the taller woman has closed her eyes.  
‘This will sting a bit’ says Waverly. She slowly wipes Nicole’s cut lip. Nicole intakes a sharp breath but doesn’t say anything. Waverly then moves to wipe the blood coming from Nicole’s nose. She’s able to clean it up quickly and Nicole’s face looks less like a horror scene. The bruising that’s beginning to bloom around Nicole’s chin will take far longer to appear normal again.  
Waverly can’t help the few tears that are falling down her face.  
‘I’m so sorry Nicole, this is all my fault’ she whispers thinking that Nicole has fallen asleep. But Nicole’s eyes shoot open and she looks at Waverly.  
‘Your fault? I punched him Waverly’ says Nicole matter-of-factly.  
‘But you wouldn’t have had to if I hadn’t...’  
‘Don’t Waverly, none of this is your fault’ Nicole says with urgency as she pushes herself into a sitting position. She grits her teeth at the pain in her ribs.  
‘Lets both agree that the Chump is the worst’ Nicole says, reaching a hand to cup Waverly’s jaw. Waverly nods and with a watery laugh leans into Nicole’s hand. 

Nicole moves forward to rest her forehead against Waverly’s and the brunette opens her eyes. Waverly leans the rest of the way in and gently touches her lips to Nicole’s. The kiss is quick and light as they both know Nicole’s lip is split and could begin to bleed again at the slightest provocation. Despite its innocence the kiss leaves them both smiling with quickened heartbeats. 

‘Okay, lie back down’ Waverly says as she reaches back into the first aid kit. She pulls out an antiseptic cream and applies it liberally to Nicole’s lip and the cut on her nose.  
As she stands up to get something from the kitchen Nicole opens her eyes,  
‘Where are you going?’ she asks, distressed.  
‘Just to the kitchen, I’ll be right back’ answers Waverly. Nicole sinks back into her pillow.

Waverly returns a moment later to find that Nicole has fallen asleep. Waverly can’t help but smile at how peaceful she looks, ginger hair spread all over the pillow like a crown of flame. Waverly gently places two aspirin and a glass of water on the table and nestles a hot water bottle into Nicole’s injured side. She then stands back up unsure of what she should do now. Should she leave and come back in the morning? or go to sleep on the couch? Nicole answers this question for her when an arm grabs her wrist just as she’s turning to leave.  
‘Stay’ whispers Nicole, barely opening one eye. Waverly covers Nicole with the sheets and then lies down awkwardly on the opposite side of the bed. Nicole’s hand grabs her wrist again and pulls Waverly to lean on her chest. 

Both women are unaware of the smile on the others face as they fall peacefully to sleep.


	8. Technically still December 6th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry there was such a break between this one and the last one. I seemed to have written myself into a corner because I had no idea how to write confrontation like this. So sorry if it’s terrible.  
> Thankyou for reading and let me know any suggestions for places this could go x

Nicole wakes the next morning as the comfortable weight on her chest lifts and she no longer feel the warmth of Waverly resting on her.  
As she opens her eyes as far as the bruising will allow she sees the brunette slip quietly from the room. Resolving to follow Nicole slowly sits up on her elbows and hesitantly swings her legs out of bed. The rest of her fatigued body follows quickly after and Nicole stands, the only symptoms of her dramatic evening being a hiss of breath, a dull pain in her ribs and the black eyes she knows she’s sporting.  
Checking the clock, 12:34 Nicole follows Waverly to the kitchen.  
Waverly hears her approach as she stands at the sink filling the kettle.  
‘Good morning’ she says cheerily  
‘Morning’ Nicole says with a gentle smile. She eases herself into a chair at the table.  
‘You didn’t have to get up, I would have brought you something, you probably shouldn’t be out of bed’  
‘I wanted to see you’ replies Nicole Waverly blushes and turns her head away.  
‘Coffee?’ Waverly asks ‘or we could go get breakfast?’  
‘Coffee would be great Thankyou’ Nicole says with sincerity. ‘I’d rather not go outside looking like this till I have to’ Waverly nods her understanding and busies herself with the coffee.  
‘Can I make you some cereal?’ Nicole asks as she begins to stand from her position at the table. Waverly shakes her head.  
‘What about toast then?’ Nicole asks but again Waverly shakes her head.  
‘I’ll make breakfast’ Waverly says gesturing for Nicole to sit back down. ‘You’re still struggling’  
‘Oh. Okay’ Nicole relents, taking her seat again with a slight scowl.  
‘So what are you doing today’ Waverly asks, her tone is light.  
‘Not sure, the plan was to go to the gym with Dolls’ Waverly shoots her a disbelieving glance at this, ‘but I’m obviously not going to go now’ Nicole quickly adds with an offhand gesture to her bruises. She thinks for a moment ‘Maybe I’ll go for a walk round the block, might loosen me up a little’ Nicole says more to the room than directly to the woman who stands at her countertop. 

‘You could walk to the police station’ Waverly suggests. She walks over to Nicole two mugs in hand. Placing one in-front of the redhead she takes a seat next to Nicole.  
‘Oh. Uh...yeah maybe’ says Nicole hesitantly. Waverly frowns.  
‘What do you mean...Maybe? Waverly says ‘he assaulted you’  
‘Yes I know that Waverly’ Nicole sighs.  
‘Well then report him’ she says matter-of-factly,  
‘It’s a bit more complicated than that’ retorts Nicole taking a sip from her coffee.  
‘How?’  
‘It just is’ states Nicole.  
‘I’m serious Nicole, why won’t you report him?’  
Nicole’s silence infuriates Waverly, she has always hated being treated like a child.  
‘Nicole, what’s your problem!’  
Taken aback by Waverly’s tone, Nicole matches it.  
‘I can’t report him’ Waverly begins to interject, ‘listen a minute’ she pleads. Waverly puts her hands back round her coffee cup and nods. ‘Okay so if I tell them Champ and his friends assaulted me they begin to ask questions, then I’d have to tell them that I punched him and then that leads to why. Now I know you haven’t reported him and from your face you’re not sure you want to tell anyone. So I don’t want to take that choice from you which is what would happen if I went to the police station.’  
Waverly stares at her, opening and closing her mouth.  
‘And to answer your question my problem is that you’re treating me like I’m incapable of anything, I’m very grateful for last night but I’m injured not dead’ Nicole finally lets out the breath she didn’t know she was holding and waits apprehensively for Waverly’s response. 

‘Oh’ is all Waverly says. She looks at Nicole with a mixture of anger and confusion.  
‘Well I’d better go then, I wouldn’t want to get in the way’ she says standing up and turning to the sink.  
‘That’s not what I meant, I just mean that I don’t need you to do everything for me’ Nicole says rising to talk to the brunette and slowly walking after her.  
‘No Nicole it’s fine’ says Waverly as she puts her mug in the sink and gathers her bag and coat from the hall ‘I should go anyway I’ve got a shift at...uh...soon’  
‘Waverly wait’ Nicole says as she follows her down the hall ‘we should talk’. Waverly turns to face her with a sigh, she lowers her head.  
‘I’ll text you’ Waverly states ‘I need to think’ she takes two step back towards Nicole and briefly squeezes her hand.  
Heartened by this show of affection Nicole doesn’t chase Waverly down and as the shorter girl shuts the door Nicole breathes out and hangs her head.

After a moment of shock Nicole lets out a groan.  
‘You idiot Nicole Haught, she was just trying to help’ Nicole berates herself and she leans her forehead against the blue wall. Deciding against further self inflicted damage to her head she turns and stomps into the kitchen muttering ‘and then you had to bring up her assault’ she angrily opens a cat food tin and places it on the floor ‘what a fucking idiot, why couldn’t you have just lied and said you’d report it’ she thinks about this momentarily sighing, then answers her own muttered thought ‘because that would be a lie and I don’t want to start whatever this is with a lie’ she says regretfully. 

Resigning herself to give Waverly some time to think she decides to begin her day. She showers as quickly as she can, though it takes her longer than usual due to her difficulty in picking up the shampoo bottle when it slips from her hand. She dresses, far more easily than the previous evening and assumes the best position on her couch for Netflix viewing. After 3 episodes of ‘nailed it’ and another of the ‘Great British bake off’ she begins to wish she wasn’t alone, her first thought is of Waverly but she sends a text to Dolls instead and asks him to come over at 4. 

She spends the next hour scrolling through her twitter feed and doing unmotivated tidying of her kitchen. She’s just finished brushing crumbs off the couch where she ate a mid afternoon snack when there’s a knock at the door. 

Expecting her friend to be the cause of the knocking Nicole settles carefully down onto her couch and yells  
‘Doors open, just come in’ there’s a moment of silence and then the creak of hinges which are long overdue an oil.

‘Took you long enough’ she says, eyes not leaving the TV screen. ‘I’m fine by the way, I’ve been waiting to watch the newest episode cause I know you wanted to see it, everyone says it was rubbish but I have to see for myself.’ When no one answers Nicole looks to the door.  
‘Waverly?’ The girl stands in her hallway holding her coat in her arms.  
‘I left my first aid kit here’  
‘Oh right, I’ll get it now’ Nicole hurries to stand.  
‘It’s fine Nicole just stay there, I know where it is’ she turns her back and exits to the bedroom. Nicole stands despite Waverly’s assurances and steps into the hallway. She decides to wait there for the other woman, not wanting her to feel cornered.  
When Waverly joins her in the hallway, first aid kit in hand. Both women are quick to speak.  
‘I...’ Nicole starts at the same time as Waverly says her name.  
‘You go first’  
‘Nicole I just want to say I’m sorry’  
‘What are you sorry for?’ Nicole says incredulously. ‘I’m the one at fault here’ you were just trying to help and I yelled at you’  
‘But you got beaten up by my ex and I pressured you to report him, but the whole time you were only thinking of me’  
Nicole takes a step forward and lifts Waverly’s chin with her finger.  
‘I want to report him and I think you should too. but I would never do anything to make you uncomfortable or take that choice away from you’  
Tears begin to prick in Waverly’s eyes and she throws her arms around Nicole.  
‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.’ She cries out.  
‘What are you sorry for?’ Nicole questions, returning the hug despite the sharp pain in her ribs.  
‘I’m scared’ Waverly explains pulling back from Nicole and staring into her eyes. ‘And I know it’s stupid but I’ve known champ forever and I can’t believe I’m the reason he’d be arrested’ she bows her head.  
‘You are not the reason he’d be arrested’ she says angrily ‘you can’t think like that, he tried to rape you’ Waverly flinches at her words. ‘He belongs in jail’  
‘I don’t think...’ Waverly starts looking up at Nicole.  
‘Don’t even try to deny it, I saw it too remember....also if it makes you feel any better he literally beat me to the ground’ she takes a breath ‘if that’s not reason enough to be in prison then I don’t know what is’. Waverly stares at Nicole her eyes roaming all the bruises and healing cuts on her face. 

‘Okay’ Waverly states simply.  
‘Okay What’ Nicole replies taken aback.  
‘We should report him’ she says with conviction.  
Nicole brushes her thumb across the tears falling down Waverly’s cheek.  
‘You are so brave’ she says softly.  
‘And while I appreciate your heroic actions the other night, you are an idiot for getting involved in all this.’ Waverly whispers back with a new smile on her face.  
‘I’d do what I did a million times to protect you’  
Waverly whispers a barely audible ‘Thankyou’ and presses her lips to Nicole’s.  
Caught up in the sincerity of the moment neither wants to break apart. They kiss gently for as long as they can. And when they retreat back from each other it’s only for a moment and a shared smile before their lips meet again in a slow dance.


End file.
